Slumpin’ Barton

Every hitter needs to fight through his first big-league slump, but Daric Barton’s is about as deep as they get. He’s 7 for 55 in May (stats) and his OPS for the month is under .500.

Barton is only 22 and has hit at every level in the minors, as well as his first two months in the bigs, so there’s no reason to think he won’t come out of it. But if the slump continues, the A’s seem to have three options, or some combination:

— Grit teeth, stay with Barton. This isn’t a go-for-it season anyhow.

— Play Mike Sweeney, which would add a lot of offense. But Sweeney has defensive shortcomings and his body probably wouldn’t hold up to playing every day in the field.

— Wait for Eric Chavez to get back and give Jack Hannahan, who played some first in the minors, a shot.

With either of the latter options, Barton could be optioned to Sacramento to get his stroke back.